LOFTI 2

LOFTI 2 ("LOw Frequency Trans Ionospheric Satellite", also styled LOFTI II) refers to a pair of United States Naval Research Laboratory satellites launched in 1962 and 1963 as a follow-on to the LOFTI-1 mission. The program's mission was to study how the ionosphere affected very low frequency transmissions. Both were 20-inch diameter aluminum spheres equipped with extendible antennas.[1]

LOFTI 2

LOFTI 2 was launched on 24 January 1962[2] as part of the Composite 1 mission alongside four other satellites.[3] The mission failed to reach orbit.[2][4]

LOFTI 2A

LOFTI 2A was launched on 15 June 1963 alongside five other satellites.[5] It was equipped with a ten-foot antenna which could be extended to 40 feet remotely. The orbital injection motor on the launch vehicle failed to fire, leaving all of the satellites in the wrong orbit.[6]

References
  1. Electro-Optical Systems (1966). Richter, Henry (ed.). Instruments and Spacecraft, October 1957-March 1965: Space Measurements Survey. Scientific and Technical Information Division, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. pp. 239–240, 430.
  2. Krebs, Gunter. "LOFTI 1, 2". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  3. "USN 711008: Lofti II Satellite". history.navy.mil. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  4. "Composite Launch Attempt Fails". Aviation Week and Space Technology. p. 29.
  5. Krebs, Gunter. "LOFTI 2A". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  6. Brescia, R.; Ballou, D.; Zirm, R. Decay Prediction of 1963-21 Using U.S. Naval Space Surveillance System Observations (PDF) (Report). Retrieved 12 July 2022.

Further reading
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